Just Friends
by DuckDodgersInThe21stCentury
Summary: Post Movie. After an excruciatingly long talk at the front desk, Officer Nick Wilde began questioning the nature of his relationship with his bunny partner. Was it strictly platonic or had it already blossomed into something more? Meanwhile, Judy Hopps is attempting to resolve a heated internal conflict that she believes could threaten her friendship with her favorite sly fox.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

"Because she left it in her trunk!"

Clawhauser's paws immediately found themselves over his mouth, attempting to hide his laugh. He quickly looked around the sprawling reception area of the Zootopia Police Department to see if anyone noticed and let out a sigh of relief when none of the officers peppered around them batted an eye.

"Good one, right?" the cheetah looked down at the smaller officer leaning casually on his desk, an irritatingly smug grin plastered on his face and a cup of Snarlbucks in one paw.

"O-M-Goodness Nick! You can't just say jokes like that out loud, someone here might get offended!" Clawhauser whispered, attempting to give the fox a stern lecture. The constant fits of guilty giggles didn't make him sound very convincing, though.

"You wound me Sprinkles," Nick frowned, placing a paw over his chest and feigning offence, "I told that exact joke to Madam Chokehold last week and she laughed so hard she almost blew my hat off my head."

"…Really?"

Nick opened his mouth to respond but was immediately sidetracked by the sound of the ZPD's massive sliding doors opening. Nick eagerly turned his head, expecting to see a familiar face. However, after seeing no one of any importance walking in, the grin on his face temporarily faltered. He looked back at Clawhauser.

"Yep," Nick took another sip of coffee and looked down at his drink. He would've bought an extra-large cup if he knew that he would be spending more than a minute in the front desk all alone, "she loved it, actually wanted to hear more."

Clawhauser visibly relaxed. The cat's round ears perked up and it was clear that he was putting less effort into hiding his giggles. Nick wanted to chuckle at the big cat's naivety but controlled himself. There's no way he'd tell that joke to an elephant, the fox valued his life way too much.

"Well if Francine laughed at it then it must be okay!" Clawhauser paused for a moment as he recalled the joke in his head before letting loose a loud laugh, the guilt from before completely gone. Suddenly, as if the previous conversation never happened, the cheetah bent over his desk, eyes wide as if whatever he was going to say next would change Nick's life forever.

"OH! Did you see Gazelle's interview last night on Jimmy Feline?! It was so amazing when- "

Nick tuned out immediately upon hearing the pop stars' name. One of the first things he learned when he became an officer at this station was to never enable Clawhauser during one of his Gazelle talks unless you had a spare couple of hours. Nick liked the cat well enough but he was incapable of keeping up with him when he started acting like an obsessive fan. The only animal he knew that looked even remotely interested during his ramblings was, surprisingly, Chief Bogo. His grin turned into a smirk.

 _Hmm… Maybe Clawhauser and the Chief have a thing going on?_

He brushed off the thought as he turned his back towards the still talking cheetah, putting all of his attention on the entrance. Whether it be early mornings or late nights, this particular station was rarely ever quiet. Every few minutes it would open and in would come either one of his fellow officers, one of his fellow Zootopians, or one of his fellow officers ready to book one of his fellow Zootopians. Nick clicked his tongue, so many animals coming in and none of them were the animal he'd been waiting for. He took an extra-long sip when an intoxicated pig was literally dragged past him. He looked up at the patient Rhino cop holding on to one of the pig's ankles and lifted his cup at him

"McHorn."

The towering officer let out a tired groan when the pig inexplicably started oinking. Without missing a beat, the Rhino grabbed the other ankle and continued walking to the temporary holding pens. He glanced at the fox briefly and nodded his head, "Wilde."

 _Never a dull moment in the city_.

As entertaining as the morning theatrics were, Nick honestly couldn't care less. He fished his ancient phone from his pockets and frowned at the lack of any notifications. He'd sent that dumb bunny a text asking for her whereabouts the second he walked in the station and realized she hadn't arrived yet.

 _Come on now, Carrots. Least you can do is tell me if you're not coming in._

He glanced at the time displayed on his phone. Judy usually arrived at the station around 6:30-ish, running all over the place doing paperwork or prepping for patrol before most of the other officers even managed to turn on their computers. Nick usually came in around 7:00, groggy but nothing a few minutes hanging around the energetic bunny won't fix. He shook his head as he put his phone away. It was 7:45 and no bunny in sight. If she didn't get here in 15 minutes for morning briefing the Chief will surely put them on parking duty for the rest of the week.

He'd never say this out loud but he was also starting get a bit worried. Nick always took pride in his work ethic and hustle, 200 bucks a day for the past 20 years can attest to that but that partner of his was something else. In the 5 months he'd been in the force he'd never arrived at the station earlier than that overeager bunny and, in the rare occasion that she had actually missed a day, she'd text practically the entire force the day before to warn them. What sane animal does that? Heck he'd wager bucks to donuts that she's never even been close to being late to anything in her entire life.

 _Speaking of donuts…_

Nick turned his head to look at Clawhauser again.

"-and then she started singing and I could not help but get out of my chair and- "

 _My God. This cat is still talking…_

Clawhauser stood up and danced as he hummed a tune Nick recognized as Gazelle's new hit single, "Hooves Don't Lie."

 _What a horrid way to start the day._

The sensory overload of early morning ZPD escapades combined with his nocturnal biology and quickly diminishing caffeine reserves meant that without his faithful sidekick's overflowing energy to feed on, he felt practically incapable of performing any of his duties. He tried to rectify the situation earlier this morning by looking for a "replacement-bunny" but, after remembering that there was only one of those in the ZPD, decided to settle with the station receptionist. Nick's eye twitched at such a foolish decision.

Clawhauser sat down after a few seconds of shockingly adept dancing, "and then I decided to download that new app she put out where she'll actually talk to you and wake you up with a little song! Isn't that the best thing ever?!"

Nick stared blankly at the smiling Clawhauser, debating whether or not he should humor the cheetah. A few seconds of silence passed between the two.

"…Yep."

Nick took a large swig and turned his attention back to the doors.

 _I swear to god Carrots, I'm gonna break this cat if you don't show up now._

"Anyway, I can't believe that Judy isn't here yet! She knows the Chief hates it when officers are late for briefing. I hope she's not sick or anything!"

Nick's ears perked up at the sound of his partner's name. Finally interested in participating in a conversation, he turned around, pursed his lips, and shrugged coolly at Clawhauser. He tried to be as nonchalant as possible lest Clawhauser catch on that the enigmatic Officer Wilde was slowly losing his fur in worry over his partner's tardiness. The fox had a very cool reputation to uphold here.

"She's probably trying to run some early morning errand and lost track of time," Nick laughed lightly, "she was fine on Saturday when we watched 'Batmammal V. Supermammal', terrible movie by the way, so I'm sure she's doing alright." Nick scoffed internally. As if Judy would ever be so unprofessional as to lose track of time.

Clawhauser nodded understandingly, leaning forward with both of his paws underneath his neck fat. His long tail swished in the air and scratched at the top of his head, "Hmm… Are you sure she was fine on your date?"

"Yeah, she was practically bouncing off- Date?"

… _Date?_

Nick stopped dead in his tracks and gave Clawhauser a look like he just called his mother a savage. Nick scanned Clawhauser's face, searching for any sign that the receptionist was teasing. His eyes widened when he realized that Clawhauser was one hundred percent sincere with his implication, a look of worry was even evident on his face. Nick could feel his mind running into maximum overdrive. Teasing he could handle, teasing was easy to control and redirect but complete sincerity was something he rarely ever prepped for… especially when those sincere statements also imply that he would be romantically involved with easily the most important animal in his life outside of his mother.

 _WAIT. That might be a bit much. Come on, Nick._

Nick's shook his head. He looked Clawhauser straight in the eyes while his mind scoured for the right words to say. Unfortunately for the fox, the search was taking a bit too long for his liking and the cheetah took full advantage of the momentary pause to go on the assault.

"Right! Sorry if you two wanted to keep it on the hush-hush but it's kind of hard not to notice, you know? I just think it's so great that you both have time to romance even with all the police work the Chief gives you two," Clawhauser smiled warmly and gazed off into the distance, "Aww… you two remind me of Maddie and David from Moo-Lighting…"

Nick's jaw dropped at the insidious words coming out of Clawhauser's mouth. He managed to scramble together a half-decent retort but the cheetah was on a rampage.

"Don't go sneaking into any of the custodial closets now, you hear? Not even the secluded one on the second floor behind 201B that animals rarely ever walk past." He gave Nick a suggestive nod and waggled his eyebrows.

"We're not- "

"Oh don't worry, I won't tell the Chief! He won't care as long as you both keep resolving those cases," Clawhauser giggled

"We're not- "

"An inter-species office romance! So sweet! So spicy! So exciti- "

"WE'RE NOT DATING!"

Nick shocked himself, along with the rest of the ZPD in the nearby vicinity, at the volume of his voice. Dozens of eyes stared at him and a few worried murmurs skittered around them. He laughed out loud.

Clawhauser looked even more surprised, "eh wha…?"

"What makes you think that we could possibly be dating?" Nick's laugh started growing more indignant by the second. The fox looked to nearby officers hoping that they'd have his back on the matter but the others had already recovered from his outburst and returned to their own conversations. Nick decided he'd have to school this cat himself, "Judy is a fox- I-I'm a fox and she's a bunny, you do know that it'd be kind of hard to penet… C-come on now, Sprinkles. Just because two individuals happen to be close and spend lots of time together on and off work does not mean that they're dating. I mean, yes, I can see how some folks can misconstrue our incredibly witty banter as flirting but I can assure you, Officer Clawhauser, that it is one-hundred percent completely platonic."

Clawhauser was frozen in place, still stunned by Nick behaving so un-Nick like. The cat could do nothing but nod dumbly, mouth slightly agape.

The fox took a deep breath and rubbed his temples hoping his little speech stamped out all of this dating talk before Clawhauser, in his infinite wisdom, inevitably blabs it to the entire department. Nick placed his coffee on the edge of the reception desk, ready to use both paws to emphasize what he was about to say.

 _Let's spell it out for him._

"Got it, Sprinkles? Carrots and I? We are J-U-S-T- "

As an added measure, Nick started to recall in his mind all of the time he spent with Judy, prepping them like pieces of evidence of their completely platonic relationship. The second anyone casted even a twinge of doubt and resistance his way he'd present the memory and show them just how wrong they were.

"-F-R-I- "

* * *

Evidence #1: Friends get drunk together.

Nick started on the night after his graduation ceremony. He and Judy had joined up with a group of other officers, new and old alike, at the nearby cop bar to celebrate. He offered to be the group's designated driver but Judy had managed to talk him out of it. Nick remembered finding his bunny best friend's eagerness irresistible as she dragged him by his tie to the nearest open seats, proclaiming to the entire force how he was gonna get drunk with her whether he liked it or not. Sure enough, after "a few" drinks he and Judy had started seeing doppelgangers of one another everywhere they looked.

Near the end of the night, a random weasel had walked up to Judy and started drunkenly flirting with her. Judy, obviously uninterested but unable to find the right words to stop his horrid attempts, looked to Nick, her friend, for some help. In his drunken haze he stood from his seat and hugged his best bunny friend from behind, kissing her ears as he told the weasel to, "step off pal, this beautiful bunny is mine." The two decided to continue the charade the rest of the night so they wouldn't garner anymore unwanted visitors during their celebration. Sure their fake boyfriend-girlfriend ploy had felt more real than his last couple of flings but he attributed that to the fact that he'd never really had a friend as close as Judy before.

* * *

"-E-N- "

* * *

Evidence #2: Friends visit each other's homes…

Next stop for the fox was the time Judy invited him to her place for a movie. He could recall seeing the forced smile strewn on the bunny's face as she gave him the grand tour of her dinky apartment. He couldn't help but scowl when he saw how cramped everything was. "You're the hero of Zootopia," he remembered saying, "how are you not being treated like one?" His musings were interrupted by the sound of her neighbors arguing, shaking a few of the pictures that hung on the wall. He jokingly asked her if he wanted them arrested and remembered the smile on Judy's face instantly turn genuine at his obvious concern for her well being. At that point of their friendship, making her smile had become one of his favorite hobbies.

Nick sat down on her bed and watched as Judy opened her laptop and put on a random movie. When she sat down next to him he remembered blurting out if she'd like to live with him, rapidly explaining how much larger his place was and how amazing it'd be for two best friends to live together and how she'd never have to be bothered by noisy neighbors again and how he was going to be the best roomie she'd ever had. A long moment of silence passed between the two at the end of his blabbering until a blushing Judy looked back at him and declined his offer, reasoning that she didn't want to be a bother to him. Deciding not to pry, Nick told her that the offer would be open if she ever changed her mind. Sure he was disappointed that she didn't take him up on it but what best friend wouldn't be?

* * *

"-D-"

* * *

Evidence #3: Friends… do stuff together.

After a particularly tiresome case was finally solved, Judy decided to celebrate in the most unusual way. She took him grocery shopping. Nick offered to buy dinner but Judy had set her mind on cooking for the both of them, over at his place of course. She might not be living in his apartment but with the amount of time she'd recently been spending in it, she might as well have. Nick asked Judy what made her want to do this but she kept changing the subject immediately as if she was hiding something. His previous life taught him that poking your nose in someone else's business rarely ever ended well for both parties so he decided not to press the matter further. A meal was a meal after all.

He learned soon after that he should've poked his nose in her business.

He remembered laughing at the sound of clattering pans and utensils in his kitchen as he prepped the table, she obviously had no idea what she was doing. A barrage of "sweet cheese and crackers!" and, "oh moldy milk and toast!" could be heard erupting from her mouth in exasperation. Still, he couldn't help but admire his best bunny friend's tenacity. After watching Judy struggle with cleaning the cicadas he remembered finally intervening, sneaking directly behind the fuming bunny, his head placed firmly in between her ears and arms extended around her. The close contact calmed Judy and the two got into a comfortable groove soon after. Nick had prepped the insects while Judy sliced the veggies as both relished in the warmth of one another's bodies.

Their one-hundred percent completely platonic spooning was interrupted when Judy let out a tiny squeak after accidentally getting too comfortable and cutting herself. Without a second's hesitation Nick turned Judy around, took her paw into his and, without thinking, placed a few soft licks at the tiny wound. After he opened a nearby cabinet for a Band-Aid and put it on he looked back at Judy and smirked at the state she was in. Wide-eyed, radiating red, frozen in place, and panting like she'd just sprinted in a marathon. Still holding on to her paw, he joked that, "a cop shouldn't be so flustered after a teensy-weensy cut like that. You've been through much worse right, Officer?" He remembered the redness on her face spread up to her ears when he shot her a playful wink. Sure, Nick could admit that he was reluctant to let go of her paws after their little moment but who wouldn't be? They were so soft and warm.

* * *

"-S."

* * *

Evidence #4: Friends... umm…

Nick stopped at his most recent memory, last Saturday's night out at the movies. Judy insisted that they watch Batmammal v. Supermammal, despite Nick warning her that early reviews for it had been horrid. Judy, never one to be swayed by the opinion of others, had literally dragged him by the tie to the nearest theater. He had to admit though, as boring as the movie was, Nick had thoroughly enjoyed himself. Halfway through the movie he felt Judy lean into him, not realizing that she'd put the arm rest between them up. It was a common occurrence for them whenever they watched a movie and he always looked forward to it. That night, however, something new happened.

Nick remembered looking down at the small bunny next to him after he heard a small mewl from her. They locked eyes for a second until Judy closed them and shivered.

"I'm really cold."

Nick grinned down at her, about to give Judy one of his famous quips but, surprisingly, decided against it. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were in a crowded theater or maybe it was because the bunny leaning into him, staring at him, had never smelled so alluring. Whatever the reason, Nick kept his mouth shut, wrapped an arm around his partner's shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Judy gasped at Nick's sudden action but, never one to be outdone, immediately placed both of her paws over his and rubbed her digits over his soft fur. They stayed in this position for the rest of the movie, Nick occasionally nuzzling the space in between her ears and Judy occasionally running her tiny nose over the top of Nick's paw. Anyone looking at them would immediately think they were a couple but Nick knew better…

They left the theater in silence, walking alongside each other in closer-than-normal proximity, their paws brushing together sporadically, the brief contact sending intense shivers up the fox's tail. When they reached her apartment building Nick walked her up and stopped at the door. Nick watched Judy uncharacteristically fumble with her keys. It looked like she was stalling, waiting for something to happen. A wicked thought materialized in the fox's head as soon as the door opened. Before she can step in, Nick grabbed her paw and pulled her into a warm embrace. He felt Judy relax in his arms and her tiny paws grab tightly at his shirt. This was also not a part of their usual routine but there was something in the air that urged him to hold her. They stood in the middle of the hallway embracing for what seemed like hours, relishing in the feel of Judy's chest heaving calmly up and down.

"Despite my earlier protests, I had a pretty good time."

He felt her smile into his chest, "So did I…"

Judy looked at him but immediately turned away, a blush evident on her face. Nick could practically smell the nervousness on the bunny.

"S-so… umm… do you want to- "

Before Judy can finish her sentence, Nick inexplicably ran a paw up the length of one of Judy's ears and lightly caressed the tip, effectively shutting down the tiny bunny's brain. Even looking back at it, the fox had no idea what supernatural force propelled him to do that. He squeezed Judy tighter, eliciting a pleasured gasp from the bunny. He leveled his face with hers and tilted his head as the happiest smile he'd ever conjured up graced his face.

"But for our next little outing, I get to choose the movie."

A comfortable silence descended between the two animals, neither one willing to cut off their body contact. A soft sigh escaped past his lips when he felt one of Judy's claws draw what felt like crude shapes over his chest. He looked at Judy inquisitively only to be met with an intensely heated look. The fox was mesmerized. He immediately felt the temperature in his body rise and his heart rate quicken. Nick watched his partner's half-lidded gaze disappear as she closed her eyes …

"Nick…"

He remembered his tail wagging erratically hearing his name said in such a sensual tone. He remembered locking on to Judy's soft lips and licking his own. He remembered how inviting they looked, slightly parted and glistening. He wanted…

"Carrots…"

But the rational side of his brain kicked in. He smoothly let go of Judy and stepped back. Judy opened her eyes at the loss of contact and surprise marred her face at the sudden distance between them. He flashed an extra smug grin topped with a playful wink as he glided off to the nearest exit.

"I'll see you Monday."

Nothing weird about that, he remembered telling himself. Just a bit of flirting between two one-hundred percent completely platonic fox and bunny best friends. His mind had conjured up masses of X-rated images involving Judy and himself on her tiny bed but Nick shrugged it off. Sure, he needed a very long and very cold shower after that interaction but he was certain that lewd thoughts and suggestive actions like that were normal between two people who considered themselves…

* * *

"Just… Friends…"

Nick froze as the weight of his actions finally dawned on him.

… _You must be kidding me…_

On the outside Nick looked like the bastion of calm but on the inside Nick was panicking.

 _...YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME._

The fox furiously scrambled through all the memories he'd just prepped, attempting to rationalize his now suspect behavior.

 _No that's fine, that was just a game of pretend between friends… o-okay, maybe I laid out the roomie stuff a bit too thick… and friends lick each other's paws, r-right…? ...…oh no, now I can't stop thinking about how soft her paws are… wait... oh god… OH GOD… that night… Judy and I wanted to ki-_

His jaw dropped. A question he never thought he'd ever have to ask popped up in his mind.

… _Are we really just friends?_

Fortunately for Nick, his short spelling lesson must've seeped through Clawhauser's squishy head. A loud gasp interrupted his train of thought. He looked at Clawhauser, both paws covering his mouth. The chatty cheetah bent down low and stretched out his arms to the fox.

"I am so sorry! Me, Benjamin Clawhauser, the guy everyone thinks is dating Chief Bogo just because he and I love talking to each other about Gazelle so much, assuming you two are together oh…"

Nick forced out a grin, making sure to pour on an extra shot of smugness in the hopes that it'll mask how much their little talk had gotten to him.

"It's okay… just… I'm just glad we cleared all of the confusion." Nick grabbed his drink off the desk and put it to his mouth trying to wash off unwelcome realizations currently plaguing his brain but groaned when the flow of liquid stopped abruptly. He was about to head straight to the break room when he heard the familiar _whoosh_ of the sliding doors opening and the unmistakable lack of heavy footsteps. He rapidly twisted his head and his sensitive eyes zoomed in on a tiny bunny sauntering in.

 _Hallelujah!_

He looked at Clawhauser, saying a hasty goodbye and immediately rushed towards Judy. At the sight of his partner, Nick decided to lock away all the questions he had about their friendship deep in the back of his mind. The thing he had with Judy was already better than anything he could've ever hoped for, there was no point in dwelling on what could've happened and wondering if they could be more than just friends. That line of thought could potentially lead to actions that could ruin their already amazing dynamic. Nick did not want that to happen. Besides, it was way too early in the morning and Nick was already spent. He needed to get to Judy, restore some energy, and get ready for work.

Clawhauser tried to respond but the fox officer was already halfway to his partner. He smiled to himself as he watched Nick practically run towards Judy.

"Aw… that poor little fox totally wants that bunny."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"Just walk in, officer. There's nothing wrong with what you're about to do!"

Judy Hopps stood in front of what was possibly the most intimidating building she'd ever encountered in her life. Her foot tapped rapidly over the concrete, a mixture of both fear and annoyance evident on her face. The unyielding cop was currently at a complete loss. She rushed into menacing areas filled with the filthiest and most vicious dregs of society head first without a second thought but when it came to this place... the bunny officer gulped audibly… this particular place made her want to curl into a ball and tremble in fear.

Judy shut her eyes tight, cycling through her mental stash of extra-special motivational sayings in an attempt to rally her body to action. She landed on one of her favorite quotes and spoke it out like a battle cry.

"'There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still!'"

During the agonizingly slow trek over to the place in question, Judy firmly believed that the mission she entrusted to herself would be simple. Walk in, get what she came here for, then get out before anyone even noticed. Her life and her livelihood had been threatened on practically a daily basis ever since she'd acquired her badge, so a relatively safe errand like this should've been a piece of pie for the widely proclaimed "Face of the ZPD."

Nope.

The second she saw the building, Judy immediately wanted to run back home to Bunny Burrow.

"C'mon, officer! This really shouldn't be so difficul- "

The tiny bunny's conversation with herself stopped when a large donkey couple walked past her, interrupting her actions with a barely hushed bray and a disapproving glance. She hid her horrified face underneath her enormous sun hat. Looking down at the rest of her carefully chosen attire, green flannel shirt and jeans, the bunny hoped that it was enough to keep onlookers from recognizing one of the most famous cops in Zootopia. The building was in a discreet area so she knew that encounters with other animals would be far and few in between but one can never be too cautious. If any of the other cops saw her willingly entering this place they would never let her live it down.

She shook her head. Franklin D. Moosevelt was right, she needed to move forward.

Judy started walking, every step slowly cracking the brittle confidence she managed to scrounge up just for this very moment. She stopped at the front door… reached a shaky paw up to the handle…

And immediately retreated back to where she started.

Judy twirled around in anger, fighting the overwhelming urge to tear at her fur and scream. If she had her standard issue tranq she would've already been down on her back, firing it up in the air and going, "AAAAAAAH!"

After calming herself down, Judy took a deep breath and stared wide-eyed at the building, examining it in all its entirety. She followed the trail of sleazy neon-lights spread out across the walls, flowing upwards past pictures of animals posing suggestively in scantily clad clothing, all converging above the front door to form a series of words. Judy blushed as she read them out loud.

"The Sheriff of Knot-in-Ham."

The terrorizing building in front of her was neither a place that housed illegal activities nor was it an area packed to the teeth with criminals. It was, in Judy's mind, much worse.

It was an Adult Store.

Judy laughed bitterly at herself as she looked back the events that led her here.

* * *

Now, Judy wasn't ignorant of sex. Living with hundreds of siblings meant that it wasn't uncommon to walk in on one of her sisters in compromising positions with their lovers or accidentally finding herself thumbing through the pages of one of her brothers Preyboy magazines. With all of that said, growing up, Judy looked at romance and every explicit act associated with it as distractions to her goal of becoming a police officer.

Instead of searching for lovers and sexy encounters like normal teenage bunnies, Judy searched for crimes and mysteries, hoping to solve one like her favorite book character, Nancy Shrew. While her friends and siblings spent their college nights out at parties, Judy spent them in her room reading heavy books on criminal justice and law enforcement. Sure, the bunny held a few crushes on some of the local bucks around the neighborhood when she was younger but she never acted on them. The thought of getting a boyfriend paled in comparison to getting that shiny gold badge. For practically her entire existence at the Burrow, Judy's whole world revolved around the sole idea of joining the ZPD and making the world a better place.

Once she achieved what many thought was impossible and the initial excitement of Zootopian police work died down, the bunny's mind began wandering towards things in her life that she had been neglecting for years. With her dreams of enforcing the law and bettering the world finally a reality, they were quickly replaced with dreams of a different kind.

For the past couple of months Judy found herself sitting at her work area, a mess of unchecked case files scattered in front of her while she stared off into the distance, imagining herself in sickly-sweet scenarios. She made a habit of re-imagining romantic movies in her head while she transplanted herself as the female lead. During her daze, hearing tiny squeals of delight became a common occurrence for other officers walking past her desk.

Judy loathed her unprofessionalism. She sounded like one of her buck-crazy sisters but she couldn't help it. It was thrilling.

Walking hand-in-hand underneath a single umbrella with her handsome lover in the Rainforest District. Sipping hot cocoa with him in Tundratown, watching artificial snow fall with a long scarf wrapped between both their necks. Sharing a loving meal together in the best restaurants Savanna Central had to offer. Or simply spending a warm night out on a hill, snuggling with him as the beautiful buildings of Sahara Square light up the sky.

It wasn't long after that when she also replaced the male lead in her fantasies.

In the beginning, her dream lover was just an empty silhouette, a stand in for every handsome hunk in history. As time passed and her fantasies grew more vivid, so did her lover. First he became a larger animal. Then he became a larger, predatory animal. Then he became a fox. Her imagined lover continued evolving with every passing fantasy until all of her daydreaming sessions became inundated with tender moments involving a smug fox with a penchant for wearing striped ties and brightly colored floral shirts. She brushed off the familiarity as coincidence...

…The second it started calling her 'Carrots,' however, she could deny it no longer.

She had a teeny-tiny crush on Nick Wilde.

* * *

Judy hid her blushing face behind both paws. No matter how many times she'd heard it in her head, she still couldn't help but feel incredibly embarrassed.

* * *

The bunny really shouldn't have been surprised. The dynamic between the two had always been described by everyone at the station as "more than friends, less than lovers." Even though the two had already reached a level of closeness that made others envious, their relationship continued to grow stronger. The only logical next step was for one of them to get attracted to the other.

Against a fox as charming and playful as Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps stood no chance.

Whenever he was near her, the bunny's heart rate would speed like street racers in the Savanna, which made morning briefing a struggle to get through because they literally sat on the same chair. His touches, accidental or not, would leave lingering hot spots that would eventually spread throughout her entire body. And the things his amazingly smooth voice did to her! She secretly looked forward to arresting crooks just to hear Nick read them their Lemuranda Rights.

On the outside, Judy looked and acted like normal but on the inside, Judy was experiencing the wonders of a silly schoolgirl crush at the ripe age of 26.

Unfortunately, her newfound realism, ironically planted in her by the fox she liked so much, smashed the delusions of a potential relationship as quickly as they came.

No matter how intimate things seemingly got between the two of them, Nick would be the one to stop it before things got too hot and heavy. Afterwards, he'd go back and treat her like one of the guys. He'd do things like lean on her close or lay his head between her ears and act as if it was a normal thing for him to do around other animals.

* * *

"D-dumb fox…"

* * *

It totally was normal for Nick. A lingering remnant from his days as a con-man. Judy hated that he was such a touchy-feely animal but Judy knew that it was also a quintessential part of Nick's charm. If she told him to stop and he complied, Judy would be more sad than relieved. She briefly recalled the time they spent with Bellwether in her office. Nick just up and fondled that deranged sheep's wool because he loved the feel of fluff in those big, strong paws of his. He never did respect anyone's boundaries, especially Judy's, what with her being a soft cuddly bunny and all.

Realizing that Nick would never see her as more than just a friend, Judy shut down any plans of confessing and instead resolved to keep her feelings contained. She constantly told herself, "This'll pass like all of my previous crushes when I was a kid."

It didn't.

She couldn't escape from Nick in her own mind and, in turn, what she believed to be a simple attraction grew to become full-blown bunny lust. The innocent scenarios Judy thought up shifted in tone. She moved away from sappy dates around the city and focused more on what would happen when she and Nick ended up alone in the bedroom. She also added an additional "exercise" in her home workouts. One that involved nothing but her paws. What used to be an activity that the bunny engaged in once in a blue moon turned into a frequent ritual. Many nights were spent sleepless, naked under the covers with one of her paws fiercely rubbing the soaking spot between her thighs and the other on her mouth, muffling her vigorous moans.

Despite how often she did this, though, her frustration continued. It was like there was an itch in the bunny that she couldn't scratch. She'd fall asleep woefully unsatisfied, her every being screaming for a better release. Her lust was overflowing and she had no means of venting it… Because of that, whenever she was with Nick her traitorous mind would be swarmed with the need to continue her nighttime "exercises." It had gotten so bad that it was also negatively affecting her police work. Her last case file was handed over to Chief Bogo only one day in advance, as opposed to her usual practice of submitting things at least three days early all because she spent office time either fantasizing or lambasting herself for fantasizing.

Her problems hit an all-time high last night after their movie… Judy was surprisingly forward that day and Nick had responded by giving her the most breathtaking hugs she'd ever received. Her bug-addled brain thought something amazing was going to happen at the end of their hang-out session.

When Nick just up and went home, he left a very hot and bothered Judy in his wake.

* * *

Judy ended her melancholic recollecting. She let out a defeated sigh and hung her head. Enough sulking, she needed to take action. Unfortunately, she was unaware that the perverted part of her brain had already turned on…

"Stupid, sexy fox and his… big, strong paws… handsome face…"

Judy's eyes fluttered shut as her mind floated back to their moment at her door… re-imagining what could've happened... _if everything went my way…_

 _Nick would run that long fox tongue up my neck. He'd look at me with those piercing green eyes of his, whisper out my name in that incredibly sexy voice, before smashing his lips on mine. H-he'd grab me, carry me inside my apartment, and rush over to my bed. My fox would lay me down on my back and crawl on top of me, giving me that hungry, predatory stare. Then he'd sensually take off his striped tie and unbutton that stupid shirt and show me that toned pale chest of his. I want to run my paws over his fur so bad… I'd try to take my own clothes off but he'd stop me. Nick would be in control. I'd lean up to his ears and tell him how badly I want him to take me. How much I want to feel him inside me. Oh Nick… I'm so ready for you… I'm…_

"…I'm fantasizing in the middle of the street."

The sound of a police siren off in the distance fully snapped Judy out of her trance. She yanked a droopy ear over her face in an attempt to cover up her heavy panting. A muffled "oh sweet cheese and crackers" could be heard from behind them.

It really was getting worse.

The bunny reminded herself what she came here for. In her haste to control her fantasies and get back to normal with Nick, she decided she needed to purchase additional assistance during her nighttime pleasuring sessions. A brief foray in Zoogle introduced her to the wonders of artificial… appendages. She attempted to order one online but upon seeing the long delivery times, decided to run off to the nearest adult store. If last night (and thirty seconds ago) was any indication of her current mental status, she needed to get this problem of hers fixed before she sees Nick.

Tomorrow.

In her mind, the purchase of an adult toy would solve two problems at once. One, she would no longer go to work frustrated, eliminating those distracting lewd thoughts of hers and getting Judy back on track with her work. And two, without the desire to fantasize, her attraction to Nick would eventually wither and disappear as he was the main focus of most of her fantasizing anyway.

In the bunny's humble opinion, this was the best plan ever thought up in animal history.

Judy put on one of her most resolute face and balled her paws into fists, looking courageously up at the neon sign of the adult store. She repeated the words, "this is all for the best," in her mind like a sacred mantra as she walked up to entrance and opened the doors…

 **III**

"Welcome to the 'Sheriff of Knot-in-Ham!' A place where we give it to the rich and to the poor!"

Judy darted her eyes back and forth between the two animals in front of her. As soon as she walked in they immediately rushed towards her like a bloodthirsty pack of Hoofball players. On the left was a female pig and on the right was a male wolf. They both wore matching shirts with what she assumed to be the logo of the store, a silhouette of a pig and a wolf kissing.

Judy cracked open an uneasy grin as the female pig clapped her cloven hooves together, "we're the owners of this fine little establishment. I'm Peggy," the pig pointed to herself and then grabbed onto the wolf next to her, "and this is my husband, Wayne."

The wolf laughed to himself, "we were both wondering if you were ever gonna walk in the shop," Judy raised an inquisitive eyebrow when the couple exchanged mischievous looks, "you were outside a good fifteen minutes talking to yourself."

Judy blushed. She didn't know that others were actually watching her out there, "I-I'm kind of new at this… sorry."

The owners smiled at Judy's honesty. Peggy walked in close and patted her shoulder, "there's absolutely nothing to worry about!" she looked over to Wayne, "I'll take it from here hun, you can go ahead and finish sorting the anal beads."

Judy groaned. She didn't need to hear about those things.

Wayne gave Peggy a little nod and walked off to the back of the store. The large pig placed her attention back to Judy immediately after, "so tell me what you're looking for and we'll get started!"

Judy steeled herself, "I would like a t-toy for bunnies…"

"Say no more, ma'am, follow me!"

Judy followed the bouncy pig near the back of the store, passing by a myriad of brightly colored objects she was in no hurry to identify. She tried to focus on the pig's swirly tail as they walked but her eyes kept wandering. She was actually shocked at how neat and tidy everything looked, expecting the store's interior to be akin to a degenerate's hovel. All the areas of the store were clearly labeled and separated by species so it was easy for customers to navigate through and get what they needed. This place was just like a Claw-Mart.

"Here we are!" Peggy pointed to a series of tiny shelves displaying brightly colored toys, "this is the 'Lagomorph' section. We have a nice selection of artificial buck penises for a beautiful doe like y- "

Peggy noticed that Judy was not paying attention. Her mouth was agape and she was looking off to an adjacent aisle. She turned her head to look at what caught the tiny bunny's attention and her eyes instantly gleamed.

Judy could not tear her eyes off of the artificial fox phalli displayed at the 'Canid' Section. Peggy leaned in close to Judy.

"Perhaps that aisle is more to your liking…?"

Judy's ears perked up at the ecstatic tone of the pig store-owner. She centered the sun hat on her head as she looked back at Peggy, her eyes practically exuding euphoria. She wanted to say something but her mind was too wrapped up on big red toys. All Judy could do was eagerly nod. Peggy beamed.

"Let's find the right fit for you, ma'am."

 **III**

Judy walked inside her apartment and locked the door behind her.

This was it.

She threw her sun hat off to the side, leaped in front of her bed, and emptied the contents of her bag on it. In addition to the toy, the owners had supplied her with extra accessories free of charge. Probably overjoyed by the fact that she had purchased a toy meant for the use of another species. The bunny and the pig became kindred spirits in her short time at the 'Knot-in-Ham' after they realized they both had similar preferences.

Judy whisked away the unneeded products off of her bed and focused on her main purchase. She stared at it like it was a rare artifact. She finally had a reliable means of venting out her overflowing lust. Ironically, this perverted item would finally rid her of her perversion. Tomorrow she'd be back to being the most diligent cop at the station and she would see Nick as no more than just her best friend.

The bunny reached out to the box and drummed her claws over the package, carefully opening it after she read through a few of the warning labels. She peeked in and placed both arms inside the box to pull out the large toy. After what felt like hours going through dozens of them at the store, Judy settled for a plain-red, rubber one with a suction cup for a base.

"It's… massive…"

She gave the toy an experimental squeeze, the feel of the flesh-like material underneath both paws sending delicious shivers up her spine.

Remembering the embarrassing advice Peggy gave her before leaving the adult store, Judy turned around and slammed the base of the knot on the seat of her desk chair, sticking it upright. She poked at it to make sure it was standing firmly in place and watched in fascination as it swung almost hypnotically side-to-side. She ran a shaky claw lightly around the bulbous knot near the base

"Would this really be able to fit inside… Would Nick…?"

At the mention of her fox partner, Judy's heart rate sped up. Her breathing quickly became ragged and she felt like she was standing in Sahara Square in the middle of the day. She rapidly undid the buttons on her shirt and slipped off of her tight jeans.

She sat on the edge of her bed, facing her chair, and ran a paw down her taut stomach until they were underneath her veggie-themed panties. Judy covered her mouth as jolts of pleasure instantly dashed through her entire body. She was already so close and she just got home! Going to the 'Knot-in-Ham?'

Best plan ever.

Her eyes locked on to the artificial genital in front of her and the lewd wheels of her mind began turning. She quickly started building an image of her favorite animal around it until she saw only a red fox standing naked and erect on her chair. The fox grinned smugly and winked at her. Judy bit her bottom lip as her slow rubbing became frenzied at the incredibly enticing sight in front of her.

"Oh, Nick..." Judy's free paw pulled down an ear and rubbed at the dark tips. The added sensation caused her to let out a guttural moan.

 _You do this often, fluff?_

"Y-yes…" Judy's fondling increased in speed.

 _Who do you think about?_

"The m-most important person in my life… Y-you… Nick…"

 _I guess that's one way to confess, Carrots._

"I don't care… I need you so bad."

 _Well then what are you waiting for?_

Judy hungrily lunged forward at the chair. She positioned herself until the toy was placed in between her powerful legs and directly underneath her quivering sex, evidence of her arousal dripped down on the red appendage until it was just as soaked as her. She looked forward, imagining being face-to-face with the fox. She'd never been this aroused before, her current fantasy was so vivid she could practically feel the Nick's warm breath on her neck.

 _Judy..._

"Oh gosh..."

She gripped the knot, imagining her dream lover's face contorting in pure pleasure…

"-I'm going to be bouncing on your lap until we both pass out, Officer Wilde."

…and slowly set herself down on her favorite new toy.

 **III**

Judy's eyes cracked open as she sat up on her bed, half her body hanging off of it. She looked around her tiny room, illuminated by the sunlight beaming down through the single window of her tiny apartment. Clothes and random items were scattered messily over every inch of the floor.

Six times.

A groan could be heard as the bunny stood up on her feet. Every part of her body ached, none more so than the unbelievably raw spot in between her sticky thighs. She smiled to herself, it was the same feeling you get after an intense workout. A bit of pain mixed with a lot of satisfaction.

Six times.

If Judy wasn't so sore, she would have already been jumping for joy. She hadn't woken up like this in what felt like ages! Her entire being was completely sated. Her mind was calm and clear, already systematically planning out what case files needed to be finished and where they needed to be placed. Her plan worked wonders! Judy finally woke up without the crushing weight of sexual frustration. Judy chuckled heartily, today was going to be a great day! Then she looked at her alarm clock.

7:00

Okay, maybe not that great.

Judy crawled madly down at the floor, picking up her non-standard uniform, and dashed towards her bathroom.

"I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR WORK!"

 **III**

The bunny ran up to the massive sliding doors of the ZPD. After scrubbing away all traces of last night, Judy managed to get to the station in record time with about 5 minutes left before morning briefing. She sighed to herself as she leaped up the large steps, there was no way she was gonna subject Nick and herself with parking duty again at this stage of their police career.

She stopped briefly at the entrance. The bunny couldn't wait to see her hard work pay off. Going to the 'Knot-in-Ham?'

Best plan ever.

Judy sauntered confidently into the station she glanced around and relaxed when she saw some of the officers still standing around reception. She looked up at Clawhauser's desk expecting to see a bubbly cheetah munching on cereal but instead her eyes focused on the red fox walking briskly towards her, both hands clasped behind his back.

She froze.

It was like something in her mind broke. Her jaw dropped as memories of last night repeated themselves in her mind. It flashed back to a very decisive moment last night.

* * *

"DON'T STOP, NICK! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!"

* * *

Nick stopped in front of Judy and flashed her a playful grin

"Hey, it's Officer Never-Late! What happened Carrots, did someone rob a store on your way over? Should've called me," the fox placed a paw on her shoulder, "glad you're final awake, let's get to briefing before ol' Buffalo Butt gives us the boring stuff."

Judy swallowed a growing lump in her throat. This was not good.

She could feel her entire body reacting to everything Nick Wilde; His voice, his eyes, his fur, the sexy grin on his face, like they never had before. A thousand voices in her head screamed at her to pull down his tie and shove her tiny tongue into that beautiful mouth of his. It took every ounce of willpower she had ever accumulated in her life not to acquiesce to their request. Another image of last night popped up in her mind.

* * *

"OH NICK, MAKE ME YOUR WIFE!"

* * *

Nick raised an eyebrow at Judy's bizarre behavior, "finally realized how bad Yak Snyder movies are, huh pal?"

Wide-eyed Judy Hopps pursed her lips together as she finally realized her fatal error.

She made a huge mistake. She had a wonderfully sinful taste of what would happen if she and Nick got together and her mind now wanted to have the real thing. Even better, last night, Judy more or less admitted to herself repeatedly that what she thought was a schoolgirl crush, that then turned out to be a case of bunny lust, was actually much more than those two things combined.

Judy was completely in love with him.

* * *

"DO IT! I WANT YOUR BABIES, NICK!"

* * *

Nick let go of his partner's shoulder and his voice became softer, "we doing okay, Carrots?"

Nope. We are not doing okay. Her perfect plan was supposed to fix all of her problems, not make them even worse. She stared up at the fox as a look of worry flooded over his handsome face. Going to the 'Knot-in-Ham?'

Worst plan ever.

XXXXX

NOTE: Thank you all for the incredibly kind reception! Didn't expect folks to actually read AND like it. I'm a complete novice at all this FanFiction stuff but I still found it incredibly fun to do. Truth be told, I had a lot of trouble writing this part and making the character's behavior and motivation, in this case Judy's, believable. Not sure if i achieved that, so I'd love to get better ideas going forward if anyone would be willing to share them with me! Regardless, I hope y'all still enjoy the story. 


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